


Proud to be

by MihaT



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Acephobia, Asexual Character, Asexuality, First Kiss, Hannibal Lecter Loves Will Graham, Hannibal Lecter is a Cannibal, LGBTA+, M/M, Murder Husbands, Post-Fall (Hannibal), Pride Parades, Quote: Eat The Rude (Hannibal), Will Graham Loves Hannibal Lecter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-04-11 22:43:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19119190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MihaT/pseuds/MihaT
Summary: It's the Pride month so have some Hannigram attending a Pride Parade and kissing :,)And maybe some killing......for sure some killing.





	1. Shall we?

**Author's Note:**

> Just a small WARNING: in ch. 2 & 3 it's also a little bit of critique toward some LGBT+ people who think it's ok to invalidate others' sexuality, telling others that they are not a part of the community or should not express themselves etc. as we know it from some discourses each year.
> 
> Acephobia is rude so it's not a secret one OC won't survive this :)))

They were hiding in that city for a while now. After the fall and all that happened, they both needed some quiet time to lick their wounds; but never again did Will doubt his decision about Hannibal. There was no better place to be than beside him. With that, Will found a weird peace in himself, the kind he probably never ever felt before. It was almost overwhelming.

But when their wounds healed, the calm life they had became somehow maddening for Will. Probably also for Hannibal, he just seemed better at hiding it. Will almost wished Hannibal would kill someone to stir up the waters a little bit. But no, the FBI kept looking for them, that would be stupid. And then, one day while shopping fresh fruits and vegetables at the market, a leaflet somehow got into Will’s hand.

It was June and this city’s Pride Parade should happen tomorrow. That’s in a nutshell what the leaflet said to him. Will tilted his head and pushed that piece of paper into his pocket. For the rest of the day he was thinking. Thinking about it, of course.

Will knew such events only from TV news and newspapers. He had never attended it or thought about attending it at all. But it always seemed to him that people have been enjoying a lot of crazy fun at Pride Parades. Their quiet lives could use some of the crazy fun right now, at least his for sure. Just to be happy, be weird and know everyone around is doing the same so you don’t have to care about your person suit that much… Because normally, although they could be fully themselves with each other, they had to pretend to be normal in front of everyone else. This event could be a pleasant ease…

_Right?_

When the dark fell outside, they just finished dinner and Will kept staring at Hannibal. Like if he wanted to say something but wasn’t sure how to put it into words.

 _“Mano mylimas_ Will…” sighed Hannibal with a kind smile on his face. “What’s that on your mind?”

Will giggled and blushed. “I wonder if one day you’ll tell me what that myli-something word mean…” Hannibal called him like that quite often but never translated it for him. When Will wanted to know, he always just gave him such a sweet smile as he did right now, too.

“Come on, what is that, Will?”

“Well, I just thought…” Will dug in his pocket, then finally brought out the crumpled paper and tried to straighten it on the table, in front of Hannibal’s eyes. The other man read it carefully.

“You would like to march in a Pride Parade?” The raised eyebrow made Will a little bit nervous. Or… even more nervous.

“Don’t take me wrong. We don’t have to exactly march, um, I thought just to be there, enjoy some fun, huh…” Suddenly, it all became weirder than Will intended. Just now he realized Hannibal could take it in many ways, especially he could think this is a way how to call them gay. Which wasn’t what Will intended.

Despite his undeniable feelings for Hannibal, he never considered himself being homosexual. _Heck_ , they haven’t been together physically after all. They haven’t even kissed. The closest to a kiss they ever got was on the top of that _damn_ cliff… Will blushed once again, this time his face was whole red, all together with tips of his ears. He didn’t even know what Hannibal thinks about this matter. About their relationship or about the queer stuff in general. They have discussed a lot of things in the past but somehow never talked about this. Will had no idea with which sexuality Hannibal identifies, either.

 _What was I thinking?_ Will facepalmed himself because of his dense idea. Through the palm, he mumbled: “I don’t know, ignore me, that was a stupid-“  He reached for the leaflet to put it off the table. But Hannibal grabbed the hand before he could do so.

“That’s not a stupid idea, Will. I agree it may be fun. The rainbows everywhere aren’t exactly my anesthetic but-”

 “Yeah, I bet they aren’t,” Will laughed, feeling a bit better. He almost managed to look into Hannibal’s eyes again.

“You probably need an escape from this monotonous life we found here. And this really looks like a good opportunity. There will be a lot of wild positive energy. It’s a celebration for people who feel the need to hide a part of their true selves from eyes of the mayor society and this day they can let all the worries go, so...”

“Sounds like we belong there,” Will managed to smile. “Just promise me you won’t kill anyone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mano mylimas - My love


	2. Colors of the Rainbow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will asked Hannibal to attend a Pride Parade with him.
> 
> And so he did.
> 
> And so they met some new people.
> 
> And new people are sometimes nice - but sometimes also hella rude...
> 
> We are also getting closer to the 1st kiss :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See ch. 1 WARNING!
> 
> Someone is gonna speak stupid nonsense in this chapter and they are not straight nor very lucky.

Despite grey clouds from yesterday, the Pride Parade day happened to be sunny with a pleasant temperature. No rain in the air. Will didn’t own any special rainbow dress and even if he would, he felt better in his casual clothes. Hannibal hadn’t surprised him, either. The man went there in a suit as always. Contrary to his usual fancy dresses, he chose a fully black suit and white shirt. The only color on him was a purple tie.

“Not very color-full, are we?” asked Will as they entered the area full of rainbows, feathers, music, and smiling people. Immediately, he noticed several eyes checking them out. Will felt like if his collar somehow tightened. Maybe that wasn’t the best idea, after all… He never was much of a party animal.

“Relax, mylimasis. It’s like a carnival: music, costumes… I’ll buy us a rainbow flag when we get to the marked area, hm?”

Will laughed nervously. His heart almost flew out of his body as he startled under Hannibal’s arm which wrapped around his waist. With that little touch, Wil realized he might have opened a door for which he wasn’t prepared, yet. How should he react? Hannibal surely was waiting for a reaction… But after a short inner panic attack, Will decided he _maybe_ cares too much. He just leaned into the hug and for once forgot all worries.

“Let’s go closer to the road to see the Parade better, shall we?”

“Right.”

 

From the place they chose it was easy to already see future front rows of the Parade where people were finishing preparations. At this point, Will felt unexpectedly excited for the whole thing. Before, he just needed to shake off the mask of normality and nervousness from entering kind of unknown area. Then, who knows from where Hannibal brought him a rainbow ice-cream and since then, corners of his mouth just couldn’t be pushed down.

It was about 10 minutes before when the Parade should start when a young, all smiley woman approached Hannibal. There walked many people around and Will mostly ignored them, until that one girl started talking to Hannibal, touching his elbow.

“Wow, I love your style! That suit and the tie! And the hair,“ she smiled. “I mean, whether it’s just a coincidence or planned, it’s cool!”

Will checked Hannibal’s hair. _Did I miss something?_ There were still the same shades of grey color.

“Thank you for your compliment, purple lady,” Hannibal smiled back. Her dress was all in purple, that’s why the nickname.

“Hah, you are very welcome! Anyway, I actually stopped by to ask something… Our group is in the back there and we have some spare places for the Parade – would you like to join us?”

“That’s very kind of you, but I think I’ll pass this offer in someone else’s favor. I’m here with…” He stopped before called Will a partner. They had never talked about the kind of their relationship and Hannibal didn’t want to assume just like that. “With him,” he nodded toward Will. “Mostly just to watch the Parade and enjoy the atmosphere.”

“That’s nice. But are you sure you want to stay here? Your boyfriend could go with us, too. That’s really not a problem. Believe me, it’s the best way how to feel all the atmosphere of today!” Her enthusiasm and white teeth almost convinced Will to say yes. But they couldn’t do that. People take and share a lot of photos from the Pride Parade. That would be too big a risk. And of course, Hannibal knew it, too.

“We are here for the first time, you know. It’s already a lot. Maybe next year we’ll join you, hm? But as he said, thank you for thinking about us!”

She understood and left them with a happy yell while walking away: “Okay, guys, enjoy the Pride!”

After a quiet moment, Will had to ask: “What’s with your hair?”

“They are grey.”

“A-ha.“ Will laughed but couldn’t ask more because the Parade already started.

And it really was a beautiful rainbow carnival full of joy. Will realized from the pics he had ever seen in the news he knew barely a quarter of all that’s happening. The march was huge and he has probably never seen so much happy people in one place. He was actually trying to find that purple lady but never noticed her again in the crowd. In the beginning, he tried to read all names and slogans the groups of people had but soon he figured it should be easy to find out later if he would like too. Now, he rather decided to simply enjoy the visual side of the Parade.

Before the end of the Parade marched around them, they both were handed a lot of flayers, rainbow bracelets, flowers… But the thing that caused Will the most of troubles was actually kind of small square.

“What’s-“ he was looking at it carefully before he realized. “Oh my god, is that-“ He started to laugh and his ears turned red once again.

“It’s a condom, Will. What’s so funny about that?” Yet, Hannibal also grinned when saw Will’s quandary.

“No, nothing, I’m sorry.” He took in a deep breath to get rid of the laughter. “It’s just,” Will pressed its corner between two fingers and swung with it several times. “Would you believe I haven’t seen one for quite a while? And now,” _with you, here…_

“Here, so you have more to look at!” Hannibal returned him the laughter as he handed Will his gifted condom. On its cover, it was saying: _Safe sex is good sex!_ Will, somehow embarrassed, pushed both into his pocket.

 

Several hours later and miles farther, they were dancing like drunken teenagers in the middle of a dance floor. As much as Will was hesitant and Hannibal excited at the beginning, they haven’t stop for about an hour now. It must be said that Will really was a little bit drunk, but he was also genuinely enjoying himself.

“This is crazy and I love it!” he grinned with teary eyes. Normally, he would be a bit nervous from all the bodies around. But it seemed he got a free pass from all his anxieties today. And Hannibal was happy with him; but sometimes a lot is simply too much.

“I need a moment,” gasped Hannibal as he managed to stop and lead Will out of the crowd for a moment. “Now, I feel old beside you,” he grinned after caught his breath back.

“Nonsense, you are doing great as always! Let’s go back to the dance floor.”

“Don’t you want a drink? Because I think I need one,” asked Hannibal, stepping out of Will’s reach.

“I think I’m fine for now, but go ahead! You know where to find me after.” A little smile and Will disappeared in the crowd again. Hannibal sighed and unbuttoned his suit jacket. Sweat was dripping down his back, he could feel it. He pushed the jacked off his shoulders and looked around.

_They must sell water with ice somewhere here…_

And they did. Hannibal picked a bigger cup of it. Unfortunately, they had no glass. Still, the first sip was really refreshing. Near the stall, there were some tables and benches so he went there to sit.

 

“Hey, bro, I see you too think it’s too hot for dancing!” laughed the man who just leaned to the table next to him.

“Well,” sighed Hannibal. He felt fatigue creeping behind his eyelids but the sun was barely setting down. “I enjoyed awesome dance a while ago, just needed a drink…” Cubes of ice rattled against the plastic cup.

“I see, I see. One gotta love this, huh?”

“I guess so. It’s my first time being at an event like this, but it’s pleasantly enjoyable. All these people coming together to celebrate life and love… And a few ignorants protesting it,” he grinned. Hannibal didn’t care much about the stranger or what he had to say. But a little chat could be a fine distraction from his tiredness.

“Yeah, they are annoying. Though, I wish some of the guys around stopped giving them more to complain about.”

“How so?” Now, Hannibal’s eyebrow popped up and he finally looked at the person beside him. It was a younger man in shorts and a T-shirt saying: _I’m gay and proud!_ , two rainbow flags drawn on his cheeks.

“You know, I’ve seen few practically naked guys and also these perverts in leather and all that kinky shit. It’s not good for kids and only gives more arguments to the homophobes!” The man was very enthusiastic about his words. He knew not everyone here agreed but what he said was _totally right_.

“As a psychiatrist, I can assure you the _homophobes_ would always complain, no matter what people here wear or do. And when it comes to children, it does no harm unless there is some specific behavior which-“

“Ah, damn, seeing your suit I thought you would agree with me, lol. But hey, I’ve got used to it, don’t want to argue over perverts today, huh? Who cares what they do in private, I just think the stuff doesn’t belong in here, ya know?” he laughed.

“I'm sure it was a part of the LGBTA+ community and its Pride Paredes from the beginning. You should realize this is a celebration of diversity and acceptance, not an elite club of your own.” Suddenly, Hannibal wasn’t tired at all. But he remained calm. People like this could easily suck out all the fun with one sentence, really.

“Chill, bro, I said there is no need for argues today.”

Hannibal just shook his head. About five minutes of silence followed so he considered the discussion being over. _This man is lucky_ , he thought, _that Will asked me not to kill anyone today_. At some point, Hannibal straightened his back looking for a trash can, since he finished his drink. The other man noticed his move.

“Hey, wait. You are actually nice, do you know it?” he laughed. “I must say I have a soft spot for older guys. Are you alone here or-“

“With someone, don’t even try, _bro_." Some people are just plain stupid… Every man is the artisan of his own fortune.

“Okay, I understand. But everyone can enjoy a little distraction - amusement in their, ya know, partner life.”

 _Was it a wink?_ Seriously?

“Anyway, what’s your letter in LGBT? Or are you an ally?”

 _I’m super tired of your claptrap._  “If I should choose a letter, it would be an A.”

“So as for ally, then? Are you here with your girlfriend? I’m sure she would understand-“

“A as for asexual... Are you aware that I was leaving when you stopped me?” The man was really annoying but Hannibal didn’t want to be the rude one or _scared_ one and simply walk away in the middle of the conversation.

“Oh, wow, an asexual? Are you a plant or what?” The man laughed while Hannibal crushed that plastic cup in his hand. It wasn't as much about anger as about him imagining this man's throat in cup's place. “Lol, no, sorry, I was just kidding! You are still valid despite not being a part of the LGBT community. No worries.”

“You are being terribly rude, young man.” In his mind, Hannibal considered if it’s possible for human meat to get that nice iridescent appearance which beef meat often has.

“But wow, what’s it like to be _an asexual_? I mean, how can you even live without sex? I would probably die after a month only! But that’s like, because I’m really good at it!” Smile widened. “I could teach you some stuff if you like. You never know – if you try it you may actually love it, hm?” Another wink.

Hannibal said nothing, still lost in his rainbow meat thoughts.

“Come on, don’t be so prudish!”

“I… I’m afraid I have to be somewhere else, now, but if you have a business card, I actually may get in touch with you later.” Hannibal smiled like the sun on morning dew.

“A business card?” grinned the man. “Who do you think I am? You are lucky that you are sexy – actually. Give me your hand…” Without waiting for Hannibal to move, he grabbed his hand and wrote a phone number into its palm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mylimasis - beloved


	3. Great night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day is over and Hannibal with Will are returning "home".
> 
> And did I say they're gonna kiss (& kill)?
> 
> Yes, they are :)))

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING (see also in ch. 1): The rude queer guy is gonna be killed.
> 
> He is not gay, bi, pan, ace or anything else – yet he is all of it, too. He is a personification of all harmful and generally bad thoughts (addressed here or not) which live in the LGBTA+ community and which we all should be doing our best to kill off.
> 
> Ace, bi, pan, intersex, etc. people belong in the community if they want, don't let anyone make you think otherwise <3
> 
> Happy pride month to all people of good will! <3

“Oh my god, that was exhausting!” sighed Will a while before 10 pm when they were returning home. It was in a walking distance from their place but a lot of cars of other attending people still stood parked all around. Will felt so tired. “I love these people. It’s hard to believe they have to worry about their lives for who they are in some countries… Everyone was so happy, opened and genuinely nice...”

“Personal struggles one experiences due their own _weirdness_ are great teachers when it comes to tolerance of the _weirdness_ in others,” nodded Hannibal. “Being a minority won’t always make one a good person, though.”

“You met an asshole today, didn’t you?” Will smirked at him. “Of course I know not everyone is good just for being here or so.” His voice lowered. Will could feel he hit the nail on the head. “But I’m sorry you had a bad experience, really. Still, it might be my best night since…” He stopped in front of Hannibal and turned forward to him in one elegant motion. “Since that night in your cliff house.” They stood in an almost empty street, nothing but the buzzing of street lamps was disturbing the silence. The buzzing which reminded the sound of sea waves a little bit. Will’s left hand found Hannibal’s hip as it did months before. “Thank you for being there with me.”

Hannibal understood and placed his hand over Will's belly. “You know I would follow you into the hell. It's not that bad to be with you in your haven.” His other hand found Will's waist.

“The purple lady called us boyfriends. Are we? Is this what boyfriends do?”

Hannibal smiled. “It is what they all say. The best, indeed, keep their promises.”

“You...!” Will giggled, then buried face in the crook of Hannibal's neck.

“You know this is all I ever w-“ before he could finish, Will's lips pressed against his.

The kiss hasn't least long but Hannibal could feel the taste of Will on his tongue long after. When they parted, they stared at one another speechless. Until Will found some words again.

“I... Hope it's okay for you, what I've done. I'm stupid, wanted to ask before but...”

“My beloved Will.” Hannibal's palms moved to one of Will's flushed cheeks. “Why should it not be okay?”

Will let out an awkward laughter. “There are a few reasons I could think about,” he sighed. “I asked about your colors when you left me alone on the dance floor.”

At first, Hannibal didn't understand. “My colors?”

“Black, gray, white and purple... These colors.”

“Oh.”

“Oh, indeed.” Will giggled as fingers brushed over the rim of his ear.

“You aren't going to pull some stupid plant jokes, are you?”

“Ew, why? Who would do that?”

“Not you, mylimasis, not you.”

Will leaned into the touch on his face to press a kiss to Hannibal's wrist. As the hand slowly moved closer to his eyes, he noticed a blurred stain in the middle of its palm. “What's this?”

Too late Hannibal recalled there was an important number written on his skin. Barely half of the numbers were still readable. “Our future dinner; at least it could have been,” he sighed.

“There will be others, forget this one.”

“Right.” They exchanged a fond smile. “Now, could you kiss me one more time?”

Who knows why made that request Will laugh. “Okay, I think I could. But you’ll have to tell me more about your asexuality when we return to the house.” Will refused to call the place home because he knew they’d leave it, soon. “If I ever cause you any discomfort, I would like it to be intentional – not a product of my ignorance.”

“Should I expect torture?” Hannibal grinned, expressing no serious concern.

“Maybe? Don’t try to tell me you wouldn’t deserve it! But for now…” Will leaned closer for the promised kiss. He still didn’t consider himself being gay, but he surely enjoyed kissing Hannibal Lecter, the cannibal.

However, as he was doing so, he could feel something went wrong somewhere in the middle. Hannibal’s soft warm body suddenly felt like a piece of ice in his arms. Will stopped and quickly noticed Hannibal staring somewhere behind him. There were some sounds of a car door opening and closing.

“Hey, Hannibal? What happened?”

“That’s him…”

“Who?” Spontaneously, Will turned around to see where was the other one looking.

“Our dinner… I don’t want to let him go!”

“What-”

“Follow me!” Hannibal slipped out of his arms like a fish from wet hands of a fisherman and ran to the car. Before its driver could start the engine, he opened another door and sat on the passenger seat.

“The fuck?!” yelled the driver immediately. Then he recognized a somehow familiar face.

“Hey, I’m sorry for startling you! Do you remember me?” Hannibal’s smile was dazzling.

“Oh, right, that sexy plant guy! But what the fuck are you doing in my car?!”

“Sorry once again! It’s just that I really wanted to accept your generous offer and call you but…” He waved at the guy with the blurred stain on his palm. “So when I saw you here, I had to stop you before you could leave forever.”

“Thirsty, aren’t you?” He licked his maybe too big lips and winked at Hannibal. “What about your, huh, companion?”

“We can make it work, we will.” With these words, he made a gesture and someone else entered the car, making himself comfortable on a back seat.

“Who the fuck is that?!’ The guy wasn’t even scared, just a bit surprised and angry.

“That’s my boyfriend, actually. No worries, we three can have an awesome after-party together!”

Will just stared at Hannibal in disbelieve. “What are you doing?! Someone could've seen us getting in!”

“I’m practically sure there was no one else in the street.”

“Practically, great!” They all could _practically_ hear when Will’s eyes rolled up.

“You worry too much, Will! Let me introduce you to my new friend…? What’s your name?”

While Hannibal placed a hand on stranger’s shoulder, Will screamed in his mind: _I do WHAT?! Are you high or something?!_

“Anthony, I’m um… I haven’t expected more fun today but…” He shrugged. “At least your boyfriend isn’t black.”

One of Hannibal’s eyebrows went up when he turned back to Will, ignoring the racistic annex: “Anthony. That’s interesting.” A picture of the giant anatomical heart made from a human body came to mind of them both simultaneously.

“Nice to meet you, Anthony” mumbled Will without any real interest. He cared much more about the street in which could anytime soon appear new leaving individuals. “Hannibal, we should take him home immediately, you can’t even consider here being a safe place for this.”

“Wait, I’m not sure I want to be a part of your weird thruple, guys…”

But Hannibal hasn’t planned to give him the privilege of choice. “Let me return the compliment, Anthony – you look very tasty and I’m not going to let you go after all you told me.”

The next sound came from Will, who threw up his hands and leaned back into the seat.

“Omg, an asexual, sure…” Anthony laughed and finally started the engine. “I’m gonna fuck that asexual nonsense out of your beautiful head, lol. And next year you can say you really belong here for finally fucking with a guy, huh?”

Promptly, Will straightened behind him, prepared to strangle that guy with a single move. Only Hannibal’s eyes stopped him. _The time will come, soon…_

“So where are you guys staying? Somewhere close?”

“Yes; not too far, I’ll navigate you.”

Will in the backseat finally smiled. People like this were a disgrace to their own community and he couldn’t wait to help Hannibal get rid of one of them tonight.

And then they may kiss one more time.

Or a few.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is gonna be 1 more bonus chapter for those who actually wanna see the guy dead. I just have to think up some great crime scene setting worthy this body :)))


	4. Does not belong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last bonus chapter :)
> 
> Hannibal and Will talk about their future and past, some things changed between them, someone died... Just as usual :D
> 
> Hope you will like it and hope you liked the whole story.
> 
> The pride events in my country are still about 2 months away so it's not over for me but hope everyone had an awesome Pride month without troubles like in this story :)

"I love the taste of your kisses. I would kiss you the whole day and still wouldn't have enough."

What a casual thing to say someone in this casual situation….

"That's kinda terrifying." Yet, Will blushed. He wasn't entirely sure that having this talk over a dead man's body they were just eviscerating is the right place or time. But with Hannibal, _the Cannibal_ , it probably never was...

Hannibal just pushed his hand deep into the corpse's belly and with a bit of struggle brought back something - probably a heart. "I promise not to try to eat you ever again, Will. At least, not literally. That was an impulsive decision, back then in Florence."

"Not literally… What about figuratively?" Will knew he was kind of nasty but enjoyed the idea of making Hannibal disconcerted a little. However, that have never happened and he knew he should know better once the sentence left his mouth.

"I don't mind to do anything that makes you happy when it comes to the sexual life, Will. Sex is a tool, after all. Sometimes used to please, sometimes to manipulate. If you will enjoy the night, I will, too. That is why I value the psychological side of our relationship much more than anything physical we could ever have."

 _Could we, though?_ Will had to admit that beside some kissing he wouldn't know how to start touching Hannibal in _that_ way. It felt somehow inappropriate despite him just being allowed to do so. At least, for now. _Still…_ "Which it was with Bedelia, and Alana? To please or to manipulate?"

"The latter, of course." But not exactly, rather both. However, he knew that's not what Will wanted to hear. 

"Look," wet slap of lungs Hannibal just put aside made Will startle. "I know I have no real authority to ask you this but… I would appreciate it if you could never manipulate someone like that ever again."

"Are you jealous, _mylimasis_?"

"Maybe? Like if you weren't with…“ Since _The Fall_ , they had never talked about Molly, Walter and the life Will tried to have with them.

"I was more worried than jealous."

Will sighted at him with an unexpected anount of love in his eyes. "I'm not entirely sure what's the power driving me toward you. And I wanted to fight it, I hoped a wife and a son, normal life, were the right weapons. I was wrong." He looked back at the body lying in bloody mess under their hands. He could still hear last screams of that man, when he had realized there was no escape. "What will we do with it? With the rest you won't need in the kitchen, at least?" It was clear Will didn't want to talk about his abandoned family anymore.

So, clearly, Hannibal had to ask: "You weren't happy with them, were you?"

"No," a sigh. "Not like I'm with you. Or… _Happy_ might not be the right word. Satisfied, maybe. I may not know the right word."

"It's ineffable," Hannibal winked with joy. "We'll dispose the body at the place where we spent the evening. With a little luck, people will think some of these protesters did it. Two flies with one blow. Still, I think we need to change our location, soon. Simply to stay safe."

"Where will we go this time?"

"I thought about a vacation. Sea and sun. What do you think about Cuba?"

 

 

The next day police got an echo about a body in the old town. It hanged from a tree, completely gutted. No one knew what happened to its organs, but a part of guts was found a while later, on the nearby river bank. There was a bloody message written under the body, saying: **_Does not belong_**. And the tongue of that dead man was recently found in his-

Let's say it appeared in a place wher sunlight won't reach.

Not Hannibal's best work, for sure, and it turned out _a little bit_ vulgar, too. However, it served its purposes.

Will Jack Crawford notice the pattern, anyway? Will that be the confirmation he's looking for - ever since they have disappeared in the sea? Will felt tempted to stay longer and see. However, he valued his newly found peace more than plain curiosity.

"To Cuba, then," he proposed a toast, sitting accross Hannibal at their dinner table the next evening. The last dinner before they would leave the city. Maybe not forever, but surely for a long time.

"You're going to love the place I chose for us. It has a big garden, a lot of space for... _Some company_. I've heard there is a lot of stray dogs in Cuban streets."

Will was about to say that he would love any place just for Hannibal being in there. _Hannibal and at least one dog._ But he didn't.

That would be too much, wouldn't it?

Yeah, it would.

"Can I stay in your bed, tonight?" he asked instead. They had separate bedrooms but after all that happened, it seemed like a logical move to change it.

"Are you asking if you can sleep with me, Will?"

"Yeah," he laughed. "Just like that, in the literal meaning. And we can cuddle, if you would like. You know, until I find enough of the dogs to do that job."

"I think I will bite you instead; that is something the dogs do, too, right?"

"Not mine dogs, even they know better."

"However,  no one knows **YOU** better than me."

"I must give you that. But not because of the possessive sentence you've just said." Will finally took the first bite of the dinner. He chewed slowly on it, enjoyed the specific taste of scared meat. Then looked back at Hannibal who still kept watching him. " _Bon appétit, mon bien-aimé_." he whishpered, a bit inarticulately. It’s been a while since he spoke or heard Cajun French. Well, a very long _while_. _Was it even right?_ Could Hannibal understand him at all?

Probably so, because he finally grabbed his own fork and replied something in that _probably-Lithuanian_ language he has been using so often around Will: " _Skanaus, mano siela._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! <3
> 
> Mylimasis - beloved in Lithuanian (Hannibal's native language)
> 
> Bon appétit, mon bien-aimé - Bon appetite, my beloved (French from Will's childhood)
> 
>  Skanaus, mano siela. - Bon appetite, my soul. 
> 
> (PS: I know there are mistages in the story, English is not my language, sorry XD <3)


End file.
